Departure
97%
vs 95% ▲ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Walla Walla Regional Airport lies in the wine country of southeastern Washington, three miles northeast of the city it serves, and is owned and operated by the Port of Walla Walla. It offers a sim pilot a mix of general aviation training traffic, a single scheduled airline service and a genuinely interesting history as a former World War II heavy bomber training base.
Walla Walla Regional Airport is a public field on the edge of the Blue Mountains in Walla Walla County, Washington, owned by the Port of Walla Walla. It is predominantly a general aviation airport, hosting flight training and light aircraft operations, but it also receives regional jet service on behalf of Alaska Airlines. For the sim pilot it offers an interesting combination: an ILS-equipped main runway, two further crossing runways of differing lengths, and a site with a rich wartime aviation heritage as a heavy bomber training base.
The airport sits about three miles northeast of central Walla Walla, in the southeastern corner of Washington State at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Approach and departure control in the area is provided by Chinook Approach/Departure, and Seattle Radio provides flight service communications for the region.
The airfield has three physical runways. Runway 02/20 is the longest, with 02 measuring 6,515 feet and 20 measuring 7,065 feet, both hard-surfaced and lit; runway 20 is equipped with an ILS. Runway 17/35 is 6,002 feet in each direction, hard-surfaced and lit. Runway 07/25 is the shortest, with 07 at 4,837 feet and 25 at 4,474 feet, both hard-surfaced. Field elevation is 1,171 feet.
Air-to-ground and departure services are provided on 133.15 MHz for Chinook Approach/Departure. The CTAF and tower frequency is 118.5 MHz, ground control operates on 121.6 MHz, and Seattle Radio can be reached on 122.3 MHz. The ASOS broadcasts on 135.875 MHz. A VOR on the field operates on 116.4 MHz, and an ILS is available for runway 20.
The airport was the site of the Walla Walla Army Air Base during the Second World War, built around the pre-existing 200-acre municipal airfield and ultimately expanded to 2,164 acres with more than 300 buildings, capable of housing, feeding and training around 6,000 personnel. The 91st Bomb Group, later famous for crews such as the Memphis Belle, was the first Army Air Forces unit to use the base, training in B-17 Flying Fortresses before deploying to Europe. After the base lay idle in late 1943, the Fourth Air Force took charge in April 1944 and established a B-24 Liberator training base; more than 8,000 officers and men trained there during the war, producing 594 heavy bomber crews. Many of the wartime bomber hangars remain in use today. In 1947 the U.S. Air Force declared the airfield surplus, and the city and county assumed joint operation from December 1947, receiving full title from the Civil Aeronautics Authority in 1949, the first such joint city/county ownership in the nation. From 1965 the airport served as a USAF dispersal base for F-102 Delta Dagger and later F-106 Delta Dart interceptors of the 325th Fighter Wing, based at McChord AFB, with the large grey alert hangars from that era still standing at the north end of the ramp and now used for general aviation. The Port of Walla Walla took over ownership and operation of the airport from the city and county in 1989.
The airport remains chiefly a general aviation field, with flight training offered on-site by Walla Walla University and Gorge Aviation Services, covering primary through multi-engine and commercial instruction. It is also served by one commercial airline, with Alaska Airlines operating regional jet flights to Seattle-Tacoma via Horizon Air and SkyWest. Former airport office and supply buildings have since been converted for industrial and manufacturing use, including several wineries. The Port has announced terminal improvements to accommodate Embraer E175 jet service as older turboprop equipment is phased out.
